Starting over, a determined businessman builds merchandising company

Six years ago, John Wingle was in a bad place in his life. His marriage had ended, his business had failed, his house had been foreclosed on and his car had been repossessed.

Today, Wingle is CEO of OnSight Solutions, an Albany-based business that provides visual merchandising and branding services to car dealerships.

Over the past 18 months, the company has sold 15 franchises in as many states, with three more set to open in January and another six in the pipeline. OnSight serves nearly 1,500 car dealerships nationwide, and did about $3 million in sales this year.

Wingle, who owns OnSight with three partners, said the company does well because it fills a need in an industry known for spending big on advertising, and because it puts ownership within reach of the "average Joe."

"I had to start this thing with nothing," Wingle said. "The franchise operation started with that mind set. We're looking for the guy with the car, the laptop, the cell phone ... and a dream."

Humble beginnings

Wingle's story begins on Feb. 3, 2002, which happened to be his birthday. At a Superbowl party attended by Tom DeNooyer of DeNooyer Auto Group, Wingle shared his idea for bringing the visual merchandising techniques other retailers were using to auto dealers.

"Most car dealers are locally owned, and they are left to their own devices when it comes to that stuff," Wingle said. "They've had limited options available to them, and they usually end up with balloons or giant inflatable dinosaurs."

Wingle, whose previous business had produced high-end commercial signage, thought point-of-purchase displays, in the form of large car decals, would create a more professional image. DeNooyer became his first customer.

"It was a good idea," DeNooyer said. "Before that, people were painting on the cars, but he came up with the idea to put it in vinyl and make it bigger. Once we started doing it, other dealers wanted to get in on it."

Wingle went from dealer to dealer in a rusted-out Hyundai his brother had given him, with a folding table in the trunk. He used a rented computer to design the decals, and produced them at a sign shop.

"I looked at it as a way to make a few bucks, pay for my apartment and feed my kids," he said. "But over time, I built a decent little business."

Partnering up

By the spring of 2004, Wingle was making as much as $10,000 a month. One day, he ran into Tim Lindsay, a former co-worker who was looking for a business opportunity. By summer, they were partners. Lindsay took over the sales end of the business, and Wingle handled production and installation.

That September, the company moved from Wingle's living room to 35 Fuller Road, and opened a full production department with its own equipment. By that time, it had grown beyond putting stickers on cars to offering a full range of branding services.

Two new partners, George Roberts--a friend-of-a friend of Lindsay's--and his friend, Tom Butz, both of Charlotte, N.C., joined the business at the end of 2004. With Roberts' background in franchising, the partners began developing plans to go national.

'Lawyers, lawyers and more lawyers'

By franchising, OnSight could grow quickly without a large capital outlay.

"Our mind set was that we could show a lot of people how to do this, and we could be profitable, too," Wingle said.

Lindsay added that owners tend to be more motivated than employees. "It's their investment, their name on the line," he said.

It took more than a year for OnSight to become a franchisor. During that time, Lindsay joked, it was "lawyers, lawyers and more lawyers."

"There were a lot of conference calls and e-mails," he said. "We spent a week straight with them hashing out details and making sure we were in compliance with the laws of different states."

OnSight also had to make sure its business was easily duplicated. That meant refining just about everything--sales materials, order processing systems, and especially the "very proprietary" production process, which had to be ready to handle a growing number of sticker orders.

"The way we have it set up, we can expand on a dime," Wingle said.

'Better and better'

OnSight sold its first franchise, in Easley, S.C., in May 2006. Others quickly followed in St. Louis, Tuscon, Ariz., Seattle, Denver and other major markets. A franchise can cost as little as $40,000 or as much as $200,000, depending on location. Overhead is low.

"Most of our guys operate out of their houses," Wingle said. "We're getting people from all walks of life."

Joe Greco, who bought the St. Louis franchise in June 2006, said he had a "jack of all trades, master of none" employment history. He wanted to own his own business, and research told him OnSight was right for him. He said that since then, the company has continued to evolve and add services.

"They don't stop, these guys," he said. "It has just gotten better and better."

Most of OnSight's growth so far has come through word of mouth. The company now has hired a franchise sales manager to take over that responsibility.

"2008 will be a big year for us," Lindsay said. "We're just getting started."

DeNooyer said he often thinks of the days, just six years ago, when Wingle would drive up in his old Hyundai.

"He is a real example of good, old fashioned American ingenuity," he said. "Looking back, I'm kicking myself that I didn't become a partner."

Lessons learned

The failure of that business cost Wingle just about everything he owned.

He admits there were times when he cried himself to sleep "strumming my little pity party violin." The change came when he faced the truth: he had no one to blame but himself.

"I wasn't a 'victim', 'unlucky', 'unfortunate' or 'in a bad place' because of anyone or anything else," he said. "Talk about an eye-opener. That's a hard thing to face. I am where I am because of me? The very idea. What about that person who did this to me, that thing that happened to me, this circumstance or that circumstance? Why am I the only one responsible for all of this?

"I finally saw the answer," he added. "I woke up and realized that I was where I was because of my own thoughts, my own actions, and my own decisions. Period.

"Owning that fact was a revelation of sorts; it completely changed my attitude, my direction, and my goals. I put away my violin, got myself a rent-to-own computer, and got busy selling stickers door to door at local auto dealerships."